Microsoft’s partnership with Qualcomm could arguably bring to the table something that their current Surface Pro 4 computer is missing, cellular connectivity. ARM processors, usually found in smartphones, could now make a much-expected debut in larger (yet still mobile) devices.

Continuum’s lack of apps, however, is a huge setback for a feature advertised as a new way of enhancing productivity in the workplace and daily life. Continuum makes the phone look like a PC, but it does not support yet enough work-related desktop apps such as Photoshop.

The importance of the Qualcomm-Microsoft project relies on the fact that both mobile and desktop apps have different builds, and connecting the two devices cuts the need for developers to create mobile versions of their apps.

Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President for the Windows and Devices Group, and the man responsible for the October keynote that first introduced the Creator’s Update, noted that a Windows-Qualcomm partnership is a huge step towards ever-connected and more power-efficient mobile PC devices.

Future Windows 10 updates, he added, will put connectivity upfront and allow users to get their data directly from the Windows Store at any time.

New devices will probably take advantage of eSIM technology, the next step in mobile network connection which solves a lot of mobile communications related problems, such as roaming.

This partnership also means a new opportunity for hardware developers to create a whole new range of mobile PCs (and smartphones) with the features mentioned above.

Microsoft could potentially change its entire technological device listing, redeeming themselves from the Windows RT project failure and breathing some new life into their not-so-best-selling line of smartphones, buried under modern Surface marketing and development.